CELTIC boss Neil Lennon last night warned his players not to get caught up in the notion the SPL title is already in the bag.

And he urged his table-topping side to show ravaged rivals Rangers no mercy from here on in.

Lennon leads his rampant team to Tynecastle tonight looking to rack up a 16th straight domestic win and restore a four-point lead at the top as they close in on a possible clean sweep.

But the Parkhead manager is concerned that a feeling of growing euphoria among the supporters, evident during Celtic’s Scottish Cup win at Inverness on Saturday, might yet distract his players from finishing the job.

A large contingent of fans believe the title race is all but over with Rangers crippled by a drastic slump in form and battling against a backdrop of financial crisis.

But he is determined not to allow his players to take their foot off the gas and was irked yesterday after full-back Adam Matthews grabbed headlines by boasting that Celtic could remain undefeated until the end of the season.

Lennon said: “We cannot affect or take in what is going on across the city. People will be coming up to the players, slapping them on the back, thinking the league is over and all that sort of rubbish. But we have to keep everything in house and concentrate on what we are doing game by game.

“We are only a point ahead with a game in hand. That can change quickly. Adam created some headlines which I wasn’t happy about. Looking at his quotes they weren’t too bad but, even if we do go unbeaten in the league, there is no title guarantee.

“It could be seven wins, seven draws and that might not be enough.”

Some supporters were spotted forming a conga in Saturday’s Highland win while chanting gleefully: “We’ll be having a party when Rangers die!”

But Lennon said: “The players are not fans. Some of them have an affiliation with the club but the main thing is they are professional footballers and at the minute they have to play hard, professional, tough football.

“While this run goes on there will be a team lurking out there that wants to take our scalp. A lot of outsiders will want us to fall.

“The boys should be self-motivated because a few of them will remember the hangover from last year and they should want to go one better.

“It’s the same with the League Cup. And they will want to have a go at the Scottish Cup again.”

Celtic will face Dundee United at Tannadice in the quarter-finals and it’s now three years since they landed a home Scottish Cup tie.

Lennon said: “Another f*****g away draw! I’m delighted with that. I checked the odds of that happening today – it was 1024-1. I wish I had put a tenner on it a couple of years ago.

“But if we are going to do it we will have to do it the hard way.”

Lennon believes his players are now displaying the kind of mental toughness needed to turn them into champions.

But he warned: “You are only one adverse result away from people saying they are not mentally strong enough.

“Over the last couple of years the players have shown they can cope with the big games and the pressure.”

Asked if he believed the Tynecastle side raise their game against Celtic, he said: “Oh yeah, no doubt about it. They played well at Celtic Park when we beat them 1-0. It was a tough game and since then they have gone on a good run. So they are capable of doing damage.”